[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11556-11557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  SANCTIONS ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge all of my 
colleagues who voted ``yes'' on continuous and strengthened sanctions 
on the Russian Federation. That was the correct vote, and I commend the 
leadership of Ohio's Senator Sherrod Brown, the leading Democrat in the 
other body on the Banking Committee who fought for this package.
  The bill also holds Iran, North Korea, as well as Russia accountable. 
Specifically, Russia for interference in our

[[Page 11557]]

Democratic Republic, but also for its ongoing human rights violations, 
its illegal invasion and occupation of Crimea, and continued military 
violence in eastern Ukraine with over 10,000 dead due to Russian 
aggression.
  This bill will impose sanctions on people involved in human rights 
abuses, those who launch cyber attacks and those who supplied weapons 
to the Assad government in Syria. President Trump and his staff 
regularly question the intelligence that shows Russia interfered in our 
election.
  Given the President's priorities lately, it is imperative that 
Congress send a clear message and make it more difficult to undercut 
sanctions without congressional approval.
  This package tells the world: Congress won't stand by idly. But what 
a sad day we have reached when there is doubt whether sanctions against 
Putin's Russia, liberty's proven adversary, will be even signed by this 
President of the United States.

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